My Wise Girl
by Scarlet-Traveler
Summary: Winter break is back in New York. Everybody is in festive spirits this season, especially our favorite couple from Camp Half-Blood. Join Percy and Annabeth during the most magical time of the year. Who knows what will happen with these two! (This is basically what would have happened if Hera hadn't swooped in and taken Percy away before the second Giant War. No hate please!)


A chilly but comfortable breeze blew through the air. The first snowfall of the season drifted to the ground, coating the small valley in a light layer of fluffy white goodness.

Percy would have called it perfect. It was just after the campfire, and he was heading back to the cabins, his right arm slung over Annabeth's shoulders. She walked close to him, her head nuzzled up underneath his chin near his neck. He could faintly catch a whiff of her sweet-scented shampoo.

"I still can't believe that we both got out for break early," Annabeth said, looking up to meet his eyes. "And I'm surprised that you haven't blown up your school or been expelled from it yet." A faint smirk played at her lips.

Percy just rolled his eyes. "Well, I know how to be a good boy every now and then. And most of the time it's not my fault that the school gets blown up! Remember the cannibals back when we were thirteen?"

"How could I forget?" Her tone sounded slightly annoyed, yet she was trying not to laugh. "The gym was destroyed after that."

"And you gave Matt Sloan a good sock to the face," he added.

She finally let out a soft giggle. "Yeah."

The growing layer of snow crunched under our shoes as they arrived in the commons area to the cabins. A young girl with dark curly hair sat by the fire in the center, poking at the flames with a stick. A circle of bare grass surrounded her and the fire, and the snow that landed on her brown shawl instantly evaporated away. She looked up at Percy and Annabeth as they passed, and gave them a small smile as she waved. They returned the smile and wave before continuing on their way. Not many people knew who the girl was, but the young couple was lucky enough to.

They finally made it to Cabin Six, and they stopped just outside the door. The snow landed lightly on their heads, and some the flakes even became intertwined in Annabeth's long curly hair, making her even cuter to Percy. He wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, giving her one last hug. "I'll see you tomorrow in the mess hall?"

"You know it." She tilted her head up, and their lips met in a gentle yet passionate kiss. They hadn't kissed that many times since they started dating those four months ago, but Percy already knew that kissing Annabeth would never get old, for as long as he lived.

He broke the kiss first, his mouth moving up to plant a soft peck on her forehead. Annabeth's cheeks turned bright red, still not used to all this affection from him yet.

Percy pulled away, a goofy grin playing at his lips as he looked down at her. "Goodnight, Wise Girl."

"'Night, Seaweed Brain." She kissed his cheek before pulling out of his arms and walking inside the cabin, closing the door behind her.

Percy watched her go inside, his grin still on his face, even after he turned away and headed back to cabin three. "How was I lucky enough to get her...?" he mumbled to himself as he walked inside his empty home.

~~~~~

Annabeth woke up the next morning, way later than usual. She knew it was late since everybody else that stayed in the cabin was already gone, probably already at breakfast. She was supposed to lead them there everyday due to being head of the cabin, but she guessed that they decided to let her sleep in for once.

She walked out of her cabin a little bit later, pulling her coat tighter around her as the chilly winter air nipped at her body. The camp barriers controlled the weather inside the camp, but it still allowed at least a foot of snow to coat the ground and everything else in the valley. Some of the younger campers were already enjoying the winter wonderland, pummeling each other into the ground with snowballs. Annabeth couldn't help but laugh a bit, happy to see people so relaxed for once. She was in a good mood herself, probably the best one in the past few weeks. She practically skipped into the mess hall, though she instantly came to a halt when she saw that the table at the front of the hall that usually held one occupant was completely empty.

She stood there for who knows how long, just staring at where Percy usually sat every day. She earned a few glances from the nearby tables, but she didn't care. She eventually snapped out of it, going and getting her breakfast before scraping part of it into the fire at the front and going to the Athena table. She plopped down on the end of the table, pushing her scrambled eggs around her plate as he rested her head on one hand, suddenly not having an appetite.

"Hey, Annabeth. Is something wrong?" A male voice asked next to her. Annabeth glanced to the side, seeing Malcolm sitting next to her with his own plate of food, along with a book about metaphysics. "You look like you lost one of your architecture books again."

"I'm fine, Malcolm," she replied, sitting up a little straighter in her seat. "It's just...Percy said we would meet up this morning, and I haven't seen him yet." She found it easy to talk to Malcolm, as she saw him as an older brother figure. In a way they were since they were both children of Athena.

"You're worried about Percy? I think I saw him going into his cabin not to long ago. He may still be there now."

"Really? Thanks Malcolm!" Annabeth gave him a quick hug before jumping up and running out the mess hall, completely forgetting about her breakfast. She dashed through the snowy grounds, past the Big House and training grounds before getting back to the commons area near the cabins. She ran right up to the shell encrusted hut, bursting through the open doorway. "Percy?"

She waited for a reply, but all she got was silence. She looked over to his bed, seeing it unmade, as usual, but empty. She sighed, walking back out. She turned to walk back to cabin six, but before she got very far, a chill went up her spine as something cold and wet hit her square in the back, soaking through her jacket. She whirled around, thinking it was one of the kids she saw playing earlier, but those thoughts quickly evaporated from her mind when she saw a familiar face with bright green eyes duck behind the Poseidon cabin.

The daughter of Athena simply rolled her eyes with a slight smile. She went around the other side of the building, seeing Percy facing away from her, peeking around the corner again. His messy dark hair wasn't in his face for once, only because it was covered up by a navy blue stocking cap. She heard him murmur something after saying her name, so she figured he was trying to figure out where she had gone.

As quietly as she could, she gathered up a handful of snow by her feet and shaped it into a sphere. She silently walked up behind Percy, tapping his shoulder. The son of Poseidon quickly turned around, only to be met with a face full of cold, white snow. He quickly wiped it away and glared down at his girlfriend, who was too busy going through a fit of laughter to even notice. She soon ceased her fit, though, when a pile of snow was dumped on top of her blond hair. She let out a squeal as she looked up at Percy. "What was that for?!"

"You threw snow in my face. It's only fair that I got to dump snow on your head," he replied, a smirk dancing on his lips.

"For dumping it on my head, you get way more than just one snowball." Annabeth bent down and gathered up several more snowballs and stood back up straight, only to see Percy gone. She looked around, seeing him running away from her, fully intent on not getting a snow bath.

"Get back here, Seaweed Brain!" She ran after him, launching a barrage of at him. Most of them missed, though a few got him in the back.

Percy looked back at her as he ran, a wide smile on his face. "Come on, Wise Girl! You can do better than th-AGH!" He was cut off mid-sentence when a snowball nailed him in the face with enough force to knock him to the ground.

Annabeth caught up him, standing over him with her own smirk, a snowball being tossed between her hands. "Was that good enough aim?"

Percy propped himself up on his elbows. "Not too bad. But I can do better." Before Annabeth could react, he made a snowball and lobbed it at her, getting her on the cheek.

I'm sure you can figure out what happened next. A full-blown snowball fight occurred, and soon enough the two demigods were laid out on the cold ground, both a laughing snowy mess. They laid there together for what felt like and hour before Percy finally managed to stifle his laughs enough until his usual smile remained. He rolled over in the snow until he was laying on his side and looking over at Annabeth. "Have you ever ice skated before?"

Annabeth quieted down to soft giggles as she shook her head.

"Then looks like you're about to try." The son of the sea god stood up, then reached down and grabbed Annabeth's hands, pulling her up to her feet as well.

His words suddenly dawned on her as she was pulled up. "Percy, how are we going to skate? It's not cold enough for the lake to be frozen."

"You'll see," he said simply, his smile still on her face. Holding into her hand, he led her down the valley to the canoe lake. Nobody was there, unlike the rest of the year, and the cold water lapped at the shores. Not a naiad was in sight under the clear surface. They most likely were hiding away near the bottom of the lake, trying to keep warm during the winter.

Percy kept walking towards the lake, slowly down when he got to the edge. He didn't stop though. He kept walking into the water, though instead of sinking under the surface, he walked across the top as if he were still on solid ground.

Annabeth gasped as she watched him, and she pulled her hand from his grasp, stopping at the edge of the water.

Percy looked back at her, a questioning look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Percy, I can't do what you can do. I'm gonna fall in..."

He just laughed. "I'm not gonna let you fall in." He held his hand out to her. "Trust me."

She stared at his outstretched hand, biting her bottom lip for a minute before hesitantly placing her hand in his. He pulled her away from the shore and onto the water, and Annabeth instantly wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders and buried her face into his neck, afraid he was wrong and she really was going to fall in.

Percy chuckled at her actions, kissing her forehead as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "You're not going anywhere, Wise Girl."

Annabeth ever so slowly peeked open an eye, then the other, before looking down, seeing the water pushing up under her feet, keeping her afloat. It didn't even feel like water was under her. It was as if the lake was actually frozen.

Keeping his arms around her waist, Percy began to move across the surface of the water, his legs drifting back and forth in a skating motion as he pulled her along. His grip loosened up on Annabeth, and she looked up at him, her face holding a look of fear. He simply smiled, his hands trailing up her arms and down to her hands, holding them tightly. He began to skate a little faster, leading Annabeth along as she gripped his hands tightly. She slowly began to skate on her own, though her movements were a bit awkward since she still felt like she was on the regular ground. Percy's were smooth and natural, as if he had been practicing for this moment his entire life just to prove he could do something better than his girlfriend.

They skated for hours in silence, the graceful and the clumsy, up until the conch horn blew for dinner. Percy skidded to a stop, throwing icy water everywhere in his wake. Annabeth, unfortunately, couldn't stop in time, so she ended up ramming into Percy's chest, knocking them both over. He was able to catch them both, using the water to hold them up as he held Annabeth in his arms. Her face became flustered, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red as she stuttered out a "s-sorry..."

He simply nodded, that being understood as a 'no problem'. He stood up, pulled her up with him.

"We should probably get to dinner..." Annabeth said.

"Nah. I've got a better idea." That dreaded smile was back on Percy's face.

Annabeth gave him a look. "What is it...?"

"If I tell you now, it'll ruin the surprise."

"...alright..."

Percy's smiled widened, and he began to walk off, holding on to Annabeth's hand. The daughter of Athena had no choice but to follow, wondering just what her boyfriend was getting her into now.

The sky was beginning to change colors as the sun began to set. Shades of blues and purples and pinks and oranges transcended above their heads, almost appearing to be like the Aurora Borealis from up north. Groups of campers ran past them as they hurried to the mess hall, eager to get first dibs on the best foods served. Percy paid them no attention though as he continued to walk, strolling past the cabins and making his way into the forest. The tall trees instantly blocked out all sunlight coming from above, so Percy pulled out his sword Riptide, its Celestial bronze blade providing enough light so they could see ahead of them.

Annabeth pulled out her dagger, using its glow to look around as they walked. "Percy, where are we going?" She wasn't scared being in the forest, not in the slightest bit, but when it came to Percy leading her somewhere without her knowing, things could turn out horribly. Their history said it all.

"Relax, Annie," he said, using the nickname the hated oh so much. "We're almost there."

Annabeth huffed a bit and nodded. "Okay...and don't call me Annie. You know I hate that name."

"Aww, but it's so fun to use," Percy teased.

Annabeth opened her mouth to say a retort, but it soon left her mind when she saw a faint yellowish glow coming from up ahead. "...what is that?"

Percy didn't reply. His sea green eyes sparkled with excitement. He parted the bushes and low bushes ahead of him, and Annabeth's gray eyes widened as she gasped.

Several candle-lit lanterns hung from higher branches of the trees, illuminating the entire small clearing. On the ground, on top of the untouched snow, lay a blue checkered blanket. A wooden basket sat on top of it, and another folded-up blanket sat next to it. Soft pipe music played from somewhere deeper in the forest.

Annabeth stared at the scene in front of her, unable to form audible words. She stepped forward slowly, getting a better look at everything. Never in her life had anybody done anything as special as this for her. After living with a family that hated her for half of her life and fighting to stay alive for the rest of it, she nor anybody else ever had time for anything recreational. Seeing this small picnic and knowing it was just for her made it all seem like this was a dream.

"I, uh, hope you like it...I set it up this morning. That's why I wasn't at breakfast..."

She turned around, seeing Percy standing there awkwardly, looking down at the snow-covered ground as he rubbed the back of his neck.

A warm smile came across Annabeth's face, and she went up to him and tilted her head up, planting a quick, soft kiss on her lips. "Percy, this is perfect, but you didn't have to do any of this for me."

He pouted a bit. "Why not? We've got three weeks together, so we might as well start it off with a bang."

She giggled a bit. "True." She went over to the blanket and sat on it. "So, what did you pack?"

"Only the best stuff." He sat next to her and opened the basket, taking out a pizza box that somehow managed to fit, a six-pack of Coke, and a plate of blue cookies covered in cling wrap.

Annabeth gaped as he took everything out. "How did you get all of that stuff...?"

"Connor and Travis," Percy said with a shrug. "I had to pay them twenty drachmas to help smuggle all this in, but I think it was worth it."

"I think it is too if that means I can have your mom's cookies." Annabeth unwrapped the plate and grabbed the cookie, devouring it in practically less than a second.

"At least save some for me!" Percy said with a laugh. He opened the pizza box, taking out a steaming slice of pepperoni pizza and starting to eat it. Annabeth grabbed a piece of pizza and snuggled up next to him, shivering a bit from being out in the cold winter air for so long.

The son of Poseidon looked down at her. "Are you cold?"

"N-No..." she stuttered, her chattering teeth giving her away. Percy grabbed the extra blanket and wrapped it around both of their shoulders, then wrapped his free arm around Annabeth, hugging her close. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder as she ate. "This is definitely my best day ever," she said softly.

"Today was better than our first kiss?"

She giggled a bit, reflecting back to the day back in August when the camp threw the couple into the lake, leading to their underwater kiss. "Okay, today was my second best."

"That's what I thought."

They sat in silence for a while as they ate. It wasn't one of those awkward silences. It was just a peaceful quiet between two people, where no words were needed to express how they felt or what they were thinking. The pipe music had long since died off, but neither noticed as they stayed huddled together in the cold night, eventually laying down on the blanket. Percy laid on his back, his arms wrapped around Annabeth as she rested her head on his chest. The extra blanket that had been on their shoulders was now draped over the daughter of Athena's back. She had long since fallen asleep, her mouth slightly open as she breathed softly, leaving Percy awake alone. He stared up at the tree tops that towered over them and the few twinkling stars that managed to peek through the thick branches at him.

He glanced down at Annabeth, smiling a bit as he watched her sleep, one of her hands lightly gripping onto his coat. He leaned forward slightly, kissing her on the forehead. She moaned softly, and a small smile appeared on her face in her sleep.

"Sweet dreams, Wise Girl," Percy said quietly, his eyes drifting closed as he too finally fell asleep.


End file.
